PETALING JAYA: All counters at the Penang International Airport have been open but the increased number of arrivals has led to long queues, says the Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS).
Its Penang commander Zuhair Jamaludin said that AKPS was aware of online complaints of congestion on Thursday (Feb 5), but denied claims that only two counters were open.
"The congestion was caused by an increase in the number of flights... particularly... (from) Spring Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines and China Southern Airlines," he said on Friday (Feb 6).
"Claims that only two counters were opened are untrue.
"AKPS activated all 12 arrival inspection counters from 3pm to 10pm.
"However, congestion at the Arrival Hall could not be fully resolved.
"The congestion also resulted from flights arriving too close together, including some delayed flights," he added.
Zuhair noted that 24 flights carrying a total of 2,988 passengers arrived from 3pm to 11pm on Thursday.
"To address this issue, AKPS will hold discussions with (airport management) to space out flights so that passenger clearance can be carried out in an orderly manner at the arrival counters.
"At the same time, all counters will be opened to ensure passport inspections are conducted quickly and efficiently.
"The expansion of e-gate usage to visitors from 63 countries is expected to be implemented in the near future for more efficient processing of arrivals," he said.
